Compound vacuum cotton gin



Oct. 18,1927. 7

1,646,060 J. F. LEVERING COMPOUND VACUUM COTTdN GIN Filed April 18. 1925 a Sheets-Sheet 1 I no Quin/ nto:

. I 1,646 060 Oct. 18, 1927' J, F. LEVERING COMPOUND VACUUM COTTON GIN Filed- April 18, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. F. LEVERING} T1 12, Fi 1- anvwtoz w g c Oct. 18, 1927. I I 7 6 J. F. LEVERING COMPOUND VACUUM COTTONMG'IN Filed April 18, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 I Fig-.

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.1. F. Lei/BRING COMPOUND VACUUM COTTON GIN Filed April 18, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Winn $5 elf tom Oct. 18,1927, V

J. F. LEVERING COMPOUND VACUUM COTTON GIN Filed April 18, 1925 6 ShGQtS-ShBGt 5 I Elvwwntoz iii) paratus embodying my invention, the left hand portion of the figure showing the l Patented (3st. 18, 1927.

. mo STATE S] PATENT OFFICE."

Jams R N LE ERIN F e mn'rw C Y. NEW ASSIGNQBOI'. ONE.-

HALF TO VIOLET CLARK FARNET, OF VALLEY FALLS, KANSAS. 7

Application filed Apri 18,

l I. The invention relatesito machines .for ginningcotton or removing the seed from the tibre and has for one-ofits principal-0o jeots to produce a machine of the kind specified which shall be simple in construction and elilcient in operation.

Cllieuirvention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of various devices, elements and parts, as set :t'oi h in theclaim's hereof, one embodiment of the same being illustrated in the accomanying drawings and described in this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a p erspectiveview of an apcit side oi 'the machine in elevation and the right hand portion ofthe figure showingthe, front of the machine in linear perspective; i Q is a front elevation of the same showing a portion of the inner mechanism in dotted lines;

Fig. is a section along the line of Fig. 2.

l ig'. l is an elevation of the right side of tile machine.

5 is a view of the gin drum forming wt of the mechanisimthe greater portion of the outer surface being broken away.

Fig. is asection ot the gin drum along the line 6--6 of Fig. 5; p

Fig. Tis a sectional View oi one of the end spiders of the drum;

Fig. 8 is a side view partly in section and with the covering broken away, of the doft'er brush; r i

Fig. 9 is a section of the dotler brush along the line 9-9 of- Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section of the defler brush on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 11 is a side View of the automatic feeder;

F 12 is a transverse section of Fig. 151 F 13 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the drum; 7

Fig. 14; is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the bevel grille;

Fig. 15 is a portion on an enlarged scale of the rollbox, showing some of its parts and their method of attachment; and 1 16 is portionon an enlarged scale of the vacuum gin plate.

it is well known that when cotton bolls plucked from the plant and brought in COMPOUND vacuum common om:

1925. Serial No. 24,130;

from the fieldg-they have attached moreor less of the outerh'ull or fragments ofntiie same, and that intermixed with-the fibres are tli'eccotton seeds, which ;inust be reg move-Ll before the fibre or l intlcan be put to commercial-use. hiachines for removn'ig the seeds, or oottongins5are of co urse Well known in the art and I need notjdescrihe such machines many great detail in this specification further than .to point: out the, particular novel features which are" involved in my improved device; .2' In carrying my invention intoettectin the embodiment thereof which I have se lected for description in this specification and illustration in the accompanyingdrawings, I provide a suitable casing or frame adapted to support in their assembled relation the moving parts of the apparatus. This frame is designated 21. In this frame are journaled shafts bearing the vacuum drum, the doffer brushes, the traveling apron rollers, and otherkmovable parts. I The embodiment of thedevioe here'shown and described is compound, that is to say, certain portions of the operative mechanism are duplicated for greater efficiency and volume of outputyas will be explained hereafter.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3 itlwill beseen that a feed for the cotton to be ginned is located in the top ot'ithe machine. designated 22. At the lower part of this feed is located a rotating distributor 23- whic-h feeds the bolls "down upon the outer periphery of the rotating vacuum drumQ El- The distributor and the drum are mounted upon shafts 25 and 26 respectively journaled in theframe of the machine. The} drive for these shafts as wellas; the vari= ons other shafts and" operating parts of the apparatus will be described later after the parts themselves have been pointed out. Located at the left hand side of Fig.- 3 and somewhat" below the lower termination of; the feed, is the rollbox 28,fthe construction of which will be'obvious from the drawings, referring more particularly to Fig. 3. In connection with f this roll bozt I employ a movable member 29, extending longitudinally through'the roll box and pivotally secured 211330 by a continuous hinge as shown, provided with" coiled springs 31 which apply a steady but yielding pressure to the roll of cotton which iscarried into the roll box by the action of the vacuum drum.

At the entrance to the roll box a serrated edged blade 32 is provided, which is adapted to separate the seed from the lint. This blade is preferably constructed of hard bronze, the edge being cut in very small teeth, one sixty-fourth of an inch in depth, which allow the lint to pass through between the teeth and the vacuum drum in the process of ginning but prevent the seed from being drawn through. This blade is bolted to'the lower edge of the seed screen 33 and the upper edge of thestiffener member 34, all of which are bolted to opposite sides of the machine, thus producing a very rigid construction. As the distance between the edge of the blade and the face of the vacuum drum is but one sixteenth of aninch, it is necessary that this member be rigidly held in position, as a slight deflection of the blade would bring about contact with the face of the drum, causing injury to the parts as well as to the cotton being ginned.

The seed screen 33 and also a portion of the blade and stiffener member are shown more particularly in Fig. 3, and fragments thereof, showing their attachment to each other, on an enlarged scale in Fig. 15. The construction of the seed screen will be better seen from the drawings than can be decribed, and it will be obvious that as the cotton is forced into the roll boX over the seed screen, such seed as can be detached will pass down between the ribs of the seed screen and fall into the trough of the screw conveyor hereafter to be described and carried away into suitable discharge receptacles. s

The vacuum drum above mentioned is located below the top feed of the machine. This'drum comprises a series of spiders 40 mounted upon the shaft 26. The constructiOn of the drum is shown more particularly in Fig. 5. The spiders are first covered by plates 41 in the form of a grille, the details of which are shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 13 and 14, the entire cover being composed of eight segments bolted to the rims of the end and centre spiders, the two end spiders being made with rims offset to the hubs, as shown, while the centre spider is of simple pulley form.

The outer covering of the vacuum drum, laid on outside of the grille plates above mentioned, comprise-s vacuum gin plates 42, a fragment of one being shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 16. These gin plates are roughened on the outside andare pro vided with air passages43 of conical form as particularly shown iii-Fig. 13, and per forations 4A, the latter being for the passage of bolts for securing the plates to the drum.

Referring to Fig. 3 it w ll be seen that be- ,group of such devices.

low the seed screen 33 is a chamber into which the seed falls through the meshes of the seed screen. In this chamber is located a conveyor 50, seen in section in said Fig. 3 but shown in front view (in dotted'lines) in Fig. 2. This screw conveyor carries the sifted out seed to a discharge pipe 51 where it is disposed of in any desired manner. The drive of the screw conveyor will be described later. i

At the front of the machine, and located below the roll box and conveyor shaft above described, is one of the doffer brushes of the apparatus, designated 58. This is mounted on a shaft fiel'j'ournaled in theframe of the machine. The drive will be explained hereafter. Below the dotfer brush is a discharge opening 56 for the discharge of the lint cotton removed by the dofi'er brush from the drum. A fragment of the doffer brush is shown on an enlarged scale in Fig. 10.

As above mentioned, the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings and here described is compound or duplex, that is to say, there are two sets of ginning devices, the vacuum drum being-common to both. The first. set of devices has been described, and T will now describe the second In the lower part of the front of the machine. is located the bottom feed, designated 60, leading to the second group of devices. The cotton introduced through this bottom feed fa-lls'upon a. traveling apron 61 carried on rollers 62 and (33 borne by shafts 6 1 and 65 journaled in the frame of the machine. The drive of these rollers will be described later. The cotton is carried by the traveling apron toward the lower roll box 66 and near the end of the apron is taken up by the vacuum drum. The cotton is carried along by the vacuum drum until it meets the serrated edged blade 67, which is substantially similar to the blade 32 already described. Located below this blade is a seed screen 68, analogone to the seed screen of the upper roll box, but in this case hingedly attached at 69, and controlled by spring at that point,

so that it may exert a yielding pressure upon the cotton, performing a function similar to that of the movable member 29 in the upper roll box. A supplemental or auxiliary seed screen 70 is provided, which is stationary and which comes into action in case the hinged screen 68 becomes lowered to such an extent that a gap in the roll box would otherwise exist.

The detail construction of these lower seed screens, with their ribs and openings, is substantially the same as the seed screen in the upper part of the machine. The seeds which pass through the openings drop into a chamber 71 containing a conveyor 72 which carries the seed to a discharge in the usual manner.

lOll

of the shaft 103 is a pulley lOl. (see Fig. 4),

ammo

is here shown and described, the open ends of the vacuum drum extend .almost- .to the inside wall of the. machine, leaving as small 'a space as possible so that there willbelit-tle room for the passage of air at the endof the drum, except at the point where the exhaustpipe enters. This exhaust pipe is shown more particularly 111 Figs. 1 and,2

. and-designated 80. It extends up outside of the machine and over the same, continuing to any suitable point where it may be connected with a fan orother air discharge device,-whereby the air may be sucked from theinside of the drum, causing a partial.

vacuumtherein, to supply which air is forcibly drawn in through the perforations d8 in the vacuum gin platesvwhich form the periphery of the drum; 1

I willnow describe the drive of the varions parts above mentioned. The main drive wheel is a sprocket 85, which is shown more particularly in Figs. (land 4;, with which engages a sprocket chain 86 connected to any suitable outside source of power. The sprocket wheel is fast on a shaft 186 on the right-hand end of which is borne sprocket wheel 87, over Which runs a cha n 88 which engages with the wheel 89 which is on the right-hand end of the shaft 26,this being the shaft of the vacuum drum, which is thereby driven. On the other end of the shaft 26 (see Fig. 1) is a sprocket 90over which passes a chain 91 which leadsdownward and engages successively with a sprocket92 on the left-hand end of the shaft 94 of the seed conveyor 72, then with an idler sprocket 98, then with a sprocket 95 on the left-hand end of the shaft 65, then with a sprocket 96 on the left-hand end of the shaft 97, which is the shaft of the seed conveyor 50, then with an idler sprocket 98 and back to the sprocket 90. On the lefthand end of the main drive shaft 186 (see Fig. 1) is a pulley 100 over which extends a crossed belt 101 which communicates power to a pulley 102 which is on the shaft 103, that being the shaft of the dotl'er brush On the other end (the right-hand end) over which passes a belt 105 to a pulley 106 on the right-hand end of the shaftfid, which is the shaft of the doffer brush 53. On the right-hand end of theshaft 97 (see Fig. 4), which is the shaft of the seed conveyor 50,

' is a sprocket-107over which passes a chain right-hand end of the shaft 25, which is the shaft of the distributor 28. I

The mounting of the vacuum drum 2 f suchas to allow the same to be easily removed from the machine for cleaning or repairs, and as easily replaced thereon, teferring now'more particularly to Fig. at it vill be seen that the drum is mounted upon a. shaft 26, which is journaled upon a ren ovable framework, the downwardly extending members of which, 127, bear wheels or rollers 129 which runupon trackways128.

It will be observed, more particularly from Fig.8of the drawings, that the poi:-

tion of the vexternal casing which covers the dotfer'brushes 53 and 73 is composed of a hinged cover in each case, the same being designated 1 by the reference numerals 130 and 131. In the said Fig. 3 they are shown in full lines closed down so as to cover the jdotfer brushes and in dotted lines in their raised or open position, in which latter position it is possible to remove the dotfer brushes for cleaning, replacement of parts, rte, ifdesired. I

The operation of my invention is as follows: \Ve will consider first the operation of the upper or first described portion of the device. The cotton bolls, having been cleaned. of the adherent hull and trash, are deposited in the upper feed 22 and led therefrom by the distributor 23 down to the vacuum drum. The outer layer of the cotton composing the boll, which lies around in a sort of a spiral layer, adheres to the drum, being impelled to do so by the suction of air into the vacuum drum and also by the roughness of the same. Themain portions of the bolls pass to a greater or less extent intothe roll box 28, while the layeigof cot tonon the drum passes-down until it meets the serrated knife 32, when the outer layer of lint cotton, which is closely adherent to the drum, is carried down between the knife and the drum, which latter continues its rotary: movement, thus stripping; the cotton of the boll, the seeds being retained by the knife 32 and passing back into the roll box and through the perforations in the seed screen 33 and being removed from the machine as already pointed out in the account of the construction of the machine. The cotton carried down by the drum next comes in contact with the dofler brush 53, which rotates in the opposite direction as the drum and at a greater speed, and this'strips the cotton from the drum and delivers it through the discharge opening 56. Should there be a tendency of the bolls to accumulate in the roll 130x28, the hinged and spring-controlled member 29 is swung upward so as to accommodate the additional bolls until such time as the same can be brought into contact with the vacuum drum.

ation just above described.

If desired an automatic control device such as is well known in the art may be connected with the swinging member 29 in such a way that when the latter is substantially raised by the passage into the roll box of an undue quantity of bolls, the feed of bolls into the machine will be automatically suspended until the excess of bells can be removed, in

a manner which will be well understood.

The operation of the lower part of the device is substantially analogous to the oper- This part of the machine deals with bolls which are introduced into the opening 60 (see more-particularly Fig. 3). The bolls *t'all upon a traveling apron 61 and are carried backward and slightly upward into the machine until they come in contact with the lower part of the periphery of the vacuum drum, to which the outer layer of cotton adheres and by which the bolls are carried upward and toward the back of the machine so that the main portion of the boll falls into the roll box 66, which is analogous to the roll box 28 already described, and the layer which adheres to the vacuum drum is unwound or stripped from the bolls as they roll around in the roll box, the said adherent layer passing upward until it comes in contact with the knife 67 which prevents the passage of any seed but allows the cotton to be carried upward until it is dislodged from the vacu um drum by the dofter brush 73 and discharged from the machine through the opening 7%. The seeds fall through the openings in the wall of the roll box 68 and are carried away by the conveyor 72 and discharged from the machine.

The advantages of my invention will be obvious tr m what has been above said with regard to its construction and method of operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a cotton gin, the following elements in combination: a frame; a rotating hollow drum journaled in said Frame, the cylindrical surface of which is perforated to permit the passage of air; means adapted to exhaust the air from the interior of said drum; devices adapted to deliver cotton bolls into contact with the outer surface of said drum and to allow said drum to strip the lint cotton therefrom by suction; devices adapted to remove the seed. from said'cotton and deliver it out of the machine; and devices adapted to remove the cotton from said drum and deliver it out of the machine; said means adapted to deliver cotton bolls into contact with the drum comprising a hopper for the reception of said bolls, a rotating distributor, and a roll box contiguous to saiddrum into which the bolls may pass while being acted on by said drum.

2. In a cotton gin, the following elements in combination; a iram'e; a rotating hollow drum journaled in said frame, the cylindrical surface oi which is perforated to permit i the passage o f air; means adapted to exhaust the air "from the interior of said drum; devices adapted to deliver cotton bolls into contact with the outer surface of said drum and to allow said drum to strip the lint cotton therefrom by suction; devices adapted to remove the seed from said cotton and deliver it out of the machine; and devices adapted to remove the cotton from said drum and deliver it out of the machine;

said means adapted to deliver cotton bolls JAIVIES FRANKLIN LEVER-ING. 

